A day at the beach is great any time of year, but it feels particularly great in December.

San Diego might be the best place in Southern California for a beach visit. The SkiZer was lucky enough to spend a couple of days exploring San Diego’s gorgeous beach locations and came away mighty impressed.

The low-angle winter solstice sun painted beach communities in golden light, temperatures were in the 70s, the sand enticing and warm.

Black’s Beach near Torrey Pines.The foot ferry from downtown San Diego goes to Coronado.The Hotel del Coronado is the centerpiece of the pristine beach there.La Jolla Shores is a wide strand, a great place for a walk.Visitors check out the seals and sea lions near La Jolla Cove.The recreation path on Mission Beach attracts a steady stream of traffic.A surfer leaves the waves of San Onofre in north San Diego County.Sunset Cliffs on Point Loma offers great views of the crashing waves.